Harris Corporation announced that its Inscriber RTX HD realtime, 2D/3D graphics platform was chosen by MST Systems Limited to provide all the graphics for the 36th Ryder Cup Tournament. The Inscriber RTX HD system provided graphics for both worldwide and domestic feeds on behalf of a number of broadcasters, including the BBC, Sky Sports and Ireland’s public service broadcaster, RTE.
The Ryder Cup Tournament, a biennial golf contest between teams from the United States and Europe, took place September 22-24 in Dublin, Ireland. Throughout the three-day event, MST Systems used the RTX HD system, controlled by MST Systems’ own software, to provide up-to-date player statistics and score information live from the course. Tournament information was displayed in a multitude of colors, styles and fonts, and 3D animations further enhanced the television production.
“Key to our decision to purchase the Inscriber RTX HD system was its ability to provide realtime effects without the need for rendering, which was an indisputable advantage for us during the Ryder Cup Tournament,” said Stuart Paterson, senior software developer at MST Systems Limited. “The RTX HD system allowed us to work ‘on the fly’ to provide the continuous graphics output throughout the live program with complete ease and flexibility.”
Paterson continued, “We have worked with Harris for many years using the SD version of the RTX HD system to write software solutions for our own TV Graphics System. For the Ryder Cup, the industry required a full HD broadcast, which led us to an additional purchase of eight RTX HD systems. The direct keying facility provided by both the SD and HD systems enabled us to easily add our graphics to the live pictures.”
The Inscriber RTX HD graphics platform puts full creative control in the hands of broadcasters, allowing them to create their own custom broadcast solution. A powerful development tool, the RTX HD platform enables users to create eye-pleasing layouts consisting of advanced design elements such as 3D animation, multiple layering, live and digital video and data from multiple sources, using common programming languages.
“We were delighted to be chosen to handle all the graphics requirements for MST Systems Limited for this prestigious event,” said Dave Dougall, vice president of sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) for the Harris Broadcast Communications Division. “Our Inscriber RTX HD graphics platform is the perfect tool for an application like the Ryder Cup, as its immense flexibility and usability allow the operator unrestricted creative freedom to handle all the complex, live graphics requirements.”
MST Systems Ltd. has been at the forefront of sports graphics and timing technology for nearly 20 years. The company specializes in realtime, live data-driven graphics for sports broadcast. MST Systems currently has 20 Inscriber RTX systems, which are used weekly on the PGA European Tour and the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) for broadcasters such as BSkyB, BBC, ABC, ESPN, The Golf Channel and Eurosport.
